


Don't make Assumptions

by Tired_College_Student_Writing



Category: Video Blogging RPF, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Existential Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-26
Updated: 2019-02-26
Packaged: 2019-11-06 04:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17933000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tired_College_Student_Writing/pseuds/Tired_College_Student_Writing
Summary: The egos have a secret. How long can they keep it from the humans that work with them?





	Don't make Assumptions

There are many unspoken runs of the egos. Never get in the middle of an argument between Wilford and Dark. Never grab a gun from Wilford’s hands. Underwear, at the bare minimum, must be worn in the communal areas. Don’t talk to Doc before he’s had his coffee if you value your spleen. Don’t question where Bim vanishes the bodies to. Protect the humans that are in the know with your life.

More were added as the Iplier roster grew, as the Septics and Sanders became more like friends and less like just being they knew were out there. But the first eight egos that bore the name Iplier had one rule that there was one rule that needed to be followed above everything else. 

A rule that caused them to hid everything, to put up masks, to play as if everything was alright even as they fell apart at the seams. 

The Doctor was the first to feel the persistent tingle, starting at his fingertips and toes but steadily moving upwards day by day. Dropping his scalpel with a harsh gasp, he could do nothing but watch as his fingers flickered in between existence and nothingness, finally admitting to himself what was happening. If the humans noticed him yelling at the nurse more and more as the days went on they didn’t say anything, but the egos knew. They saw how fixed his smile had become. Yandere helped out where he could, cleaning up blood and knowing what could be deadly was practically his job after all. **  
**

Bim was next, accidentally turning all the props on the stage into balloons when his hand first phased through the podium in front of him.  He told the others in hushed tones but kept smiling as brightly as ever when in view of the humans that he loved so much. The egos knew though. His heart beating erratically as he gazed down at his flickering fingers, losing control over his magic with increased regularity even as he grew weaker. He didn’t complain when Wilford let him do less and less around the studio since it was straining his body just to tie his tie and get out of his room every day.  

King felt the pull next and could do nothing to stop it. He stayed inside more, gazing out at his subjects with sadness and fear. Ethan and Mark noticed and asked him why he wasn’t climbing and jumping around the trees. The monarch had thought of this though, wrapping his hands in bandages, and spinning a tale of how the Doc was mad at him for getting hurt so much so he had to heal naturally this time. They bought the excuse, deciding to hang out with him as he ‘recovered’. The laughter between them was more strained than before, but only the egos noticed.

Host was the best at hiding the fact that his limbs were flicking away hidden from the humans around them. If the other egos weren’t paying attention they’d probably assume he was as fine as he appeared, but the signs were there. Hands lacking the ink that normally clung to them, the tea sloshing harshly in the cup as if he dropped it, staying in the main areas of the house more. If he wanted to be around those he saw as dear now, none of the egos could blame him. Dark never strayed far from the man these days, pulling out the chessboard for a game or a piece of music he wanted the Host to critique as justification.

Google went about his days normally, sputtering and skipping over words more frequently, but not stopping in his duty to keep the house running smoothly. Even as tools started phasing through his fingers, he refused to stop. The frustration made his core, spark, and glitch, threatening to crash at any time. Kathryn and Tyler stopped him on occasion to ask if he needed help, and Amy asked him to take breaks so to not overwork himself, but they didn’t know the true reason behind his struggle so he ignored them, lying when asked if he was doing alright.  

Without saying it aloud, they all knew they wouldn’t tell the human team that they were fading. To let them in on the fact that their heads grew fuzzy with fear as the flickers lasted longer and longer, feeling as if skin was slowly being stripped from their limbs as the fading moved further over their bodies, was not an option to them. No need to force something that Mark might not want after all, and no need to worry their friends.

Dark, Wilford, and Yandere felt pain eating at their cores, but kept with their mouths closed, knowing they’d wish for this to be kept quiet if they themselves were the ones fading. Dark’s mind flashed back to the first time he and Wilford started flickering out of existence, the pain causing them to go mad. Back then none of the three understood one another, fear and tensions running high between the two egos and their creator. He remembered how he threatened Mark to add more of his stupid jump scares and idiocy into the videos, as the pain became more unbearable by the second. How he was forced to hold a crazed Wilford back until his arms flicked to far out of existence for him to do so, but that was fine as Wilford’s body lost its tangibility as well. The fear and terror in that gripped him and Wilford as Mark weighed his options before ultimately saving them from oblivion.

None of them spoke of the event again, but it left a bitter taste in all their mouths and eventually lead to them trying to understand each other more. It also leads to the egos realizing something important, a fact that bothered them and gave more than a few sleepless nights to those who thought about it.  

But their rule came before everything, even their health, and wellbeing. 

**_Never_** , under any circumstance, Let Mark know when they were fading. 

It stemmed from the fact that they would never force Mark’s hand. The fact that they’d rather die silently then force their creator to do something he didn’t want to do. Even worse, no matter how much pain fading causes, nothing hurts worse than seeing Mark look at them in indecision on whether he should save them or not.

So the rule went into place, but it didn’t stop the questions spinning in their brains. 

Was this what it meant to be a Tulpa? Unknowingly wanting to please their creator even when a normal being wouldn’t care? When they allowed themselves to suffer so one man didn’t have to? They didn’t know, and more then one of them wondered if they actually wanted to know as they gazed down at their flickering forms.

* * *

Mark gazed over at where King, Ethan, Bim, and Kathryn sat in the main room over the top of his laptop. Something was off with all the egos recently, but he couldn’t tell what. Less damage was done to the building as, since December, fewer antics disturbed his work and overall it was growing too quiet in the recent months. It felt familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. A storm was brewing within the house and he was just waiting for the cloud break at this point. HIs eyes went to flicker down to his editing again when he noticed something. As the quartet in the corner laughed, Bim’s face became see-through for a split second. It was so quick he almost could pass it off as a trick of the light, but everything clicked into place. He scratched at the scars he had been given last time he had witnessed such and Wilford had gone mad with pain, not realizing what he was doing, Dark forced to hold him back barking at him to add more content of them.

Before he registered moving, he was across the room, hand’s twisted in the game show’s host suit jacket.

“What the hell? Mark?” Ethan shouted as Kathryn moved to shove him back. King stopped her, eyes boring into Mark with a blank expression. Bim did nothing, but meet Mark’s eyes with a pained and sheepish smile.

“How long?” His voice was low and slightly choked making the two egos grimace as the humans fell quiet.

“Around Christmas,” Mark sucked in a harsh breath looking like he was punched in the gut.

“This has been going on for four months,?” Mark’s tone was low as Bim nodded, even though he knew it wasn’t a question, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“We didn’t want to worry you,” His eyes snapped to the King, eyes wide as he slapped a hand over his mouth, smearing almond butter over his hand, not meaning to have spoken. His eyes locked on the bandages wrapped around his hands, remembering the excuse behind them. How could he have been so blind?

“Conference room. Now,” His order was laced with mindless anger and venom unlike they had ever heard before. He shoved away from Bim, marching over to the intercom in the room that was linked to the PA system throughout the house.

“All of my egos need to report to the conference room, now. If you’re not there within the next five minutes, I don’t care what your excuse is, I will hunt you down myself and drag you there by your hair,” The growled command echoed throughout the building, sounding more like a certain demon than the fun-loving youtuber, and by the time it was done, he was alone in the room with Ethan and Kat staring at him in fear and confusion.

“What’s going on?” Kat asked slowly, “What did Bim and the others do?” Mark couldn’t stop his shoulders from trembling, from anger or pain he wasn’t sure.

“Come to the conference room and I’ll explain,” He responded. When they nodded they left the room, seeing Tyler and Amy ahead of them, pestering Yandere and Doc for answers.

“What do you mean nothing’s wrong?” Tyler snapped, “Mark doesn’t just like this for no reason,”

“Oh, there’s a reason. And whoever said it was nothing is getting knocked out” Mark called, not stopping his hurried walk as they turned around to face him. He pushed past even as the others tried to question him.

“I’ll explain in the Conference room,” He snapped, shrugging off Amy’s concerned hand.  The egos silently followed him, leaving the humans to catch up. By the time they got there, everyone else was seated and waiting, not even the Host’s normal narrating breaking the silence. Bim waved his hand, summoning more chairs for the team to sit around the table. Mark stood at his place in the middle of the table eyes burning as he looked at each of the egos one by one.

“Show of hands: How many of you are affected?” The egos gazed around at each other before slowly Bim, King, Doc, Google, and Host raised their hands. Mark’s knees buckled and he collapsed into his chair, hands covering his face, a pained sob ripping through his throat. No one says anything, even as the humans started on in confusion and panic. Slowly he pulled his face up and took a deep breath.

“When did it start?” He points at Doctor first.

“December 8th at 7:30 was when I noticed the symptoms for the first time.” 

His finger moved to King, “Sometime around New Year’s.” 

 Google spoke before Mark’s eyes moved to him, “Logs started reporting problems in Late February.”

“Mark moves his hand to point at the Host and the Host tells him honestly that he felt the first signs late at night in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day”  

“And Bim told me earlier that his started around Christmas. Why didn’t you guys tell me?” Silence fell over the room.

“Uh, Mark?” Kathryn asked, raising her hand, “Care to explain what exactly is happening?” His shoulders pulled back as he glared at all of the egos around him, not looking over at the humans.

“So who wants to tell them what’s going on?” He spat, voice almost mocking, none of them meeting his eyes, “Who wants to explain how you kept the fact over half of you are dying from us for months?” The egos flinched but kept their eyes on the table. Not even Dark dared to look up, form cracking under the intensity of Mark’s words.

“Woah, Woah!” Ethan squawked, eyes flashing around the room, waiting for someone to tell him it was all just a joke, “What do you mean dying?!” Amy turned to the Doctor next to her, eyes wide with concern, only to cover her mouth with her hand as he turned away, shame floating off of him.

“Guys?” Tyler asked, trying to place a hand on Bim’s shoulder only for it to phase through him, making the tall man gasp in shock. Kat could do nothing but pale as she took in the stoic faces around the room.

“Explain,” Her demand was shaky, almost pleading. Dark broke the silence.

“It’s called Fading,” All eyes turned to him, as he finally lifted his head, eyes pitch black as his mouth twisted into a grimace, “When an ego is forgotten they fade away into nothingness, but the process takes a long time,”

“Not to mention it’s painful,” Wilford’s voice was almost unrecognizable when he piped in, his normal slurring drawl fading almost completely. He didn’t lift his eyes as he gave a hollow laugh, “It’s just a tingle in your arms and legs at first, like they fell asleep, but then it doesn’t go away. It just gets worse and worse until you want to just kill yourself to take away the pain, but you can’t even do that because your body starts going more and more intangible as you slip between his reality and the void.” 

Yan laid a hand on Wilford’s shoulders, soothing the shaking man, and pulling his hands away from where they pulled at his hair. As he spoke it felt like the air was slowly being sucked out of the room, the humans going deathly pale. Doc looked at them concerned.

“Are you all alright?” He asked, only to be met with a sharp glare from Amy, wincing at the tears gathering in her eyes.

“Are we alright?” She asked breathlessly, “You’re the one that just admitted to living with chronic pain that’s so bad suicide sounds like an answer for four months and you’re asking us if we’re alright?” Bim shrugged helplessly, scrunched in on himself.

“We didn’t want to worry you guys,” He mumbled which a few of the egos made noises of agreement. Kathryn slammed her hands against the table, tears sliding down her face.

“Worry us? You guys are dying!” Her words echoed around the room, even though she only spoke at a whisper, “Our friends are dying. Of course, we’re upset and horrified and worried and panicking,”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” Mark snapped at all of them, eyes misting over slightly. Dark let out a hollow cruel laugh, moving away from a calmer Wilford.

“It’s not like they wanted to die, Fischbach,” His form was sparking and creaking dangerously, his ring growing louder by the second, “We couldn’t bother you with this. We couldn’t force you to do something about it,”

“What the hell do you mean?”

Google broke in, tone sounding more deadpan than ever before.

“Even when it goes against logic, for some reason us Egos can not force you to do anything to help us. It hurts more then what we are facing now, to make you do something with your channel just to benefit ourselves. Whether this is simply because of what we are, or if this problem stems from your own personality, or another reason entirely is unknown,”  He explained. Mark stared at all of them mouth hanging open. 

Wilford wearily looked up finally, “Not to mention what happened last time,” 

Wilford, Dark, and Mark shared a look filled of shared pain.

“It was different back then,” Mark told them, “Last time I was asked to save two psychos with my face that mentally tortured me on a weekly basis to the point I almost quit YouTube altogether. This time I’m being asked to save my family that happens to hold multiple psychos with my face that drive me up a wall, but I wouldn’t want it any other way,” The egos looked up at him in shock, never hearing him give a name to their relationship before. Family? Was that what they were?

“Like we’d give you any other choice,” Tyler joked slightly, “You’re not the only one that would claim these guys as family,” Mark smiled slightly as the other egos eyes snapped to the four humans that were all nodding in agreement.

“Though He’d have the easiest time convincing people of blood relations,” Amy added her two cents in. Ethan laughed slightly, turning to Mark.

“How do we help?”

“We need to get all of these guys into a video. Fading is caused by the fans forgetting them, giving them more content with them present will stabilize them.” Amy’s eyes sparkled as she smiled.

“Markiplier TV!” She gasped, “We didn’t know how to end it, but… What if we act like it was a plan the egos had to take over the channel?” Mark and the egos perked up. The ongoing joke of the egos planning to take over Mark’s channel had existed for years. They all had agendas and plans, but Mark’s actual channel was left out of all of them.

“That could work,” He said, brain already summoning ideas for it, “We can add some segments with a couple of you guys too, to give it an extra boost,” Wilford smiled widely and snapped his fingers, summoning the teams’ Laptops to them. Mark connected his to the TV at the front of the room.

“Alright let’s brainstorm and figure out what we’re doing with this,”  He said, a bright reassuring smile appearing on his face. Identical faces mirrored his, feeling more hopeful than they had in a long time.

Perhaps the rules weren’t as set in stone as they thought. 

Perhaps they didn’t need to suffer alone. 

Perhaps…

Perhaps they could learn to trust the humans after all. 


End file.
